Saturday, March 6, 2010

Fulham 0 - 0 Tottenham at Craven Cottage

If Fulham had won today against Tottenham they would have advanced to Wembley and the semifinals of the FA Cup. Today's game was home for Fulham at Craven Cottage. Unfortunately for Fulham the game ended in a 0 - 0 draw. This was a disappointing result for Fulham. They will now have to play the replay later this month back to White Hart Lane . The last time the teams played at White Hart Lane, Tottenham won the game 2 - 0.

The first half was pretty back and forth with not too many chances by either team. For the most part Tottenham controlled the play better especially in the midfield.In the 4th minute there was a shot by Modric that sailed over the net. For several minutes in the first part of the half Tottenham were controlling the play.

The best chance for Fulham came in the 19th minute. Bobby Zamora's shot was saved by the goalkeeper. It was a good chance just inside the box, but was handled by Gomes.

The other good chances for the half were by Tottenham. In the 28 th minute there was a decent shot by Kranjcar. In the 30th minute, a header by Peter Crouch is saved by Schwarzer. The announcers mentioned that Tottenham were looking dangerous but not doing enough.

For Fulham in the first half it was obvious that they did miss Danny Murphy. Jonathan Greening was on his place. To win this game they needed to do better in the midfield. At the half the score is 0 -0.

The second half opened similar to how it started. Fulham came out aggressive in the opening minutes. Fulham had the first real good chance of the second half. In the 46th minute a SimonDavies cross went to Bobby Zamora who headed the ball to Zoltan Gera. His header was saved by Gomes.

As like the first half, Tottenham shortly after the brief advantage by Fulham started to grab control again. In the 55th minute a shot by Kranjcar goes off of Nicky Shorey, but was in a dangerous area near the net. Shortly after that in the 58th minute a shot by Michael Dawson slices away from the net.

Tottenham had more of the play, but Fulham were definitely getting some chances. DamienDuff started to get some shots. In the 58th minute a shot by Duff just goes wide of the net. In the 64th minute a shot by Duff is again saved by Gomes. This shot was a very good chance for Duff. In the 77th minute a pass from Zoltan Gera leads to another shot by Damien Duff that goes wide of the net. The last real chance for Fulham was in the 85th minute with a BobbyZamora run and a shot that goes very wide of the net.

As the match winds down the game ends 0 - 0 with a replay at home to Tottenham. This game reminded me some of the Boxing Day match. However, Tottenham I thought played at a much higher level tonight. To be honest both teams had there chances. Tottenham had 9 corners in the match to Fulham having only 2. Tottenham just couldn't break though the Fulham defense.

This was a disappointing result for Fulham. They have so many tough matches this month. Now, they will have a replay in the quarterfinal of the FA Cup. I think both teams played well. Like I mentioned prior I was impressed by the play for Tottenham Hotspur. I can see why they are in the running for a Champions League spot.

Fulham are definitely a tough team to beat at home. The question is can Fulham win at White Hart Lane? We will find out later this month.